The Recession Has Been Kind to McDonald’s

Daniel Gross, writing in Slate, makes an effective case for how McDonald’s “won” the recession. The masses wanted to trade down from Ruby Tuesday and Starbucks, and McDonald’s was there, waiting with open arms.

Here’s a double whammy: McDonald’s may be downmarket in the US, but it’s an aspirational brand in many countries around the world. So even as it picks up steam domestically, it still has a lot of room for expansion in places like India and China.

Of course McDonald’s is still a pariah to the intelligentsia of the nation and their well-groomed spawn: “My 10-year-old won’t touch a McDonald’s burger,” Gross writes.